Pages

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Scallion and Asparagus Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely dish has been adapted from one that appeared in The Italian Family Table by Lidia Bastianich. I've had really good luck with her recipes and this one is no exception. This salad can be served as an antipasto, a first course or as a side dish. It's perfect for spring and early summer meals when local asparagus is plentiful and cheap. While the dish has only five ingredients, the recipe is a bit more involved than most of this kind. Asparagus is peeled before being simmered with scallions. The scallions flavor the braising liquid and become mellow as they cook. Once drained the dish is dressed with oil and vinegar and briefly chilled before a final toss to incorporate the hard boiled eggs. There are only two things that can spoil this lovely dish and since I've done both of them, I thought I'd alert you to the potential pitfalls. Don't overcook the asparagus. Count cooking time from the point at which the water returns to a boil. Six minutes will usually do it for both the asparagus and scallions. Immediately rinse the vegetables in cold water or place them in a cold water bath to stop the cooking. Make sure the vegetables are well drained and have been patted dry before drizzling with oil and vinegar. This salad should be assemble no more than an hour before serving. It will get "goopy" if it sits to long after being tossed. All that being said, this is a wonderful and uncommon little salad. I hope you'll try it. Here's the recipe. Scallion and Asparagus Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Lidia BastianichIngredients:1-1/2 pounds fresh asparagus3/4 pound scallions3-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar1 teaspoon salt, or more if neededFreshly ground pepper to taste3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

Directions:1) Snap off hard stalks at bottom of asparagus spears. To assure even cooking, use a vegetable peeler to shave off skin from bottom 3 inches or so of each asparagus stalk. 2) Trim away root end of each scallion as well as wilted ends of green leaves. Peel off loose layers of bulb, so scallions are all tight, trim, and about 6 inches long.3) Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a deep wide skillet. Add asparagus and scallions. Adjust heat to maintain a bubbling boil, and poach asparagus and scallions, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, or until they are tender but not falling apart, and cooked through but not mushy. Remove cooked vegetables to a colander and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain, spread on paper toweling and pat dry. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt.4) Cut the asparagus and scallions into 1-inch lengths and gently put them into a mixing bowl. Drizzle with oil and vinegar. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss very gently.5) Quarter cooked eggs into wedges, and slice each wedge into two or three pieces; salt lightly and fold into vegetables. Adjust seasoning to taste. Chill briefly. Arrange on a serving platter or individual salad plates. Yield: 6 servings.

Mary...do you have a small restaurant we don't know about? You seem to be flying in that kitchen of yours. How many mouths are you feeding? Always with great recipes to share...and this one is no exception ;o)Flavourful wishes, Claudia

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice